National First Ladies' Library
Funding America's School Libraries
Young scholars discuss ways in which their own school library is funded, explore organization and funding of other school libraries, research Laura Bush's initiatives for school libraries, and gain experience planning projects and/or...
Curated OER
Ban That Book!
Take advantage of Banned Book Week to pique students' interest and get them reading! Create a classroom display of previously banned books and allow each member of your class to choose one to read. After they have read their book, get...
Curated OER
Melba Pattillo and Ruby Bridges: Two Heroes of School Integration
Learners put themselves in the shoes of students who integrated Little Rock High School in 1957-58. Note: The primary resources in this activity provide powerful and poignant descriptions of what those students faced.
Curated OER
Getting to Know Our School
Students explore their school and the various types of people who work there (school nurse, custodian, and principal). They interview these people and complete an activity based on the information they have obtained.
Curated OER
Modesto City Schools Library Lesson Plan
Students read and understand a variety of genres in a library setting. In this library activity lesson, students act as detectives and use clues in text and pictures to hypothesize the title of the missing book for the library reading...
Curated OER
Book Week Celebration
Students discover the importance of reading. They participate in a school wide book celebration. They participate in activities to get them interested in reading.
2012 Teaching Resources
Analyzing Character Traits
Character analysis becomes easy with a 24-page packet packed with mini-lessons, graphic organizers, and activities. A must-have for your curriculum library.
Curated OER
Best-Selling Books Bar Graph
Create a bar graph with your elementary school learners. First they read and interpret data, and then they color in the graph (provided) to indicate how many of each were sold. Consider providing them with the data but having them...
Curated OER
Judging a Book by Its Cover
Here's one of the very few lessons I've seen that works for everyone: kindergartners through college learners! Readers of any age pick out a book from the class library or the school library, that has a damaged cover or jacket. Pupils...
Story Corps
The Great Thanksgiving Listen
StoryCorp provides a resource that captures and preserves the remembrances of family or community elders. Prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, class members select a person they want to interview, record the conversation, and then upload...
Curated OER
Genetic Ethics Debate
Students select topics relating to bioethical questions which they research and debate. They, in groups, select topics and are given two to three weeks to research their topics, taking advantage of their school libraries and local public...
Curated OER
Getting to Know Numbers
Learners study the math concepts associated with the calendar including days of the week, months of the year, odd/even numbers and numbers which come before and after. They use handheld computers with the appropriate software.
Nemours KidsHealth
Screen Time: Grades 3-5
Encourage pupils to spend less time in front of a screen with two lessons that challenge them to examine their habits and try to make new ones. In lesson one, the class brainstorms activities to partake in instead of spending time in...
Bully Free Systems
Bully Free Lesson Plans—Seventh Grade
Having a hard time defining bullying with your seventh graders? Discuss the different types of behavior one would see in a bullying situation with a series of lessons, worksheets, and group activities.
Curated OER
Make your Garden Grow
Fourth graders role play as certified horticulturists as they study the biology of plants and gardening. They design a garden for their school based on what they researched and a given budget.
Curated OER
Preparing for Job Entry through Enhancement of Employment Skills
Students explore the world of work and the opportunities that exist in today's world. They identify specific careers and colleges that match their interests and abilities and investigate various corporations and businesses that employ...
Curated OER
Cameras and Careers
Applying photography basics they learn for this project, first graders take pictures of an adult at work focusing on the tools used, the work site, and job responsibilities. After making a career book that includes photos and...
Curated OER
The nutritional value of snack foods
This lesson is intended as preparation for a school health fair but could be used anytime. Learners discuss and compare the nutrition found in typical snack foods. They compose investigative questions, collect data, and research a...
Curated OER
Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas
You can keep this printable idea sheet and use when you're in a tight spot. It contains cross-curricular ideas that span every subject while relating to the African tale, "Anasazi the Spider." Learners will act, write, move, count, and...
Curated OER
Nutrition and the Media: Cereal Box Consumerism
How many treats do you buy each week? Learners investigate diets and how the media tricks consumers into purchasing unhealthy snacks. They will investigate the designs and logos affiliated with cereal boxes and identify specific phrases...
Curated OER
Dewey Decimal Game
Engage all the upper elementary classes in your school in a game to learn Dewey Decimal Classification. On 5 or 6 consecutive visits to the library, teams from each class learn how the system works, locate books in each category, and...
Bully Free Systems
Bully Free Lesson Plans—Eighth Grade
Middle schoolers are likely very familiar with the concept of bullying and cliques. Discuss their experiences and brainstorm ways to handle peer conflict and feelings of exclusion with a poem that focuses on bullying, and a second lesson...
My Access
“Banning Books” Lesson Plan
To Kill a Mockingbird, Hunger Games, Brave New World. Welcome to Banned Books Week. As part of a study of censorship and book banning, class members investigate censorship, the purposes of censorship, and First Amendment rights,...
University of Wisconsin
What’s a Square Foot Anyway? Laying Out the Design Plan
Clever! Participants don square-foot cardboard shoes to mark out the rain garden plot that they have spent the last few weeks designing. In this way, they are practicing scale modeling as well! Note that this lesson is part of a unit,...